French Track Athlete Is Beaten Up By An Assailant 20 Minutes Before Race, Wins 400M Race While Wearing Eyepatch

If anyone deserves an ESPY this summer it has to be French track athlete Wilfried Happio who was attacked Saturday, left bloodied and he still went out and won a hurdles title while wearing an eyepatch.

The craziness played out in Caen, France where an assailant got past security and proceeded to kick Happio's ass by landing several punches to the 23-year-old's face while he was warming up, leaving him bloodied and battered just 20 minutes before his race, but this track guy wasn't going down like that.

Coughing up blood, Happio got into the block while wearing his eyepatch and then he went out and put up a personal-best 48.57 to win the French 400m hurdles championship in dramatic fashion.

France's Wilfried Happio wears a bandage after being assaulted at the warm-up stage during in the mens 400 metre hurdles final during the French Elite Athletics Championships. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

"There was a big incident during the warm-up. Someone jumped on him and hit him," Happio's coach Olivier Vallaeys told reporters.

"A guy who came from nowhere asked him if it was really him, Wilfried Happio, and threw himself on him. I belted it. It was 20 minutes before the race, we were ready to go to the call room. We're in shock. The guy was arrested. Wilfried is fine.

"But I'm speechless, it's a mess. Sheer aggression. It's outrageous. These are savage methods."

"I'm speechless, it's a mess. Sheer aggression. It's outrageous," Happio's coach said after Saturday's assault. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

As for Happio, he was ready to move on from Saturday's assault.

"I don't want to dwell on it. We'll leave that to the competent people. To talk about the race, we worked a lot, we redid the music and that's it. The feelings were good. I'm glad I did this time. Physically it's fine."

Do your thing, ESPN. You frauds better give this guy an award for perseverance or performance of the year. Just make something up.

• Performance of the Century After Being Curb-Stomped

• Bulldog Mentality of the Year

• The Wilfriend Happio 'I went out and kicked ass after having my ass kicked' Award

• Best Performance While Wearing An Eyepatch

• Biggest Balls of the Year

• 'You can take away my eyes, but you can't take away my wheels' Award

Wilfried's victory gets him into July's World Championships in Oregon. The ESPYs are July 20. The World Championships are July 15-24.

This is all lining up for Wilfried and ESPN.